Thursday, January 10, 2008

On January 1, I determined that 2008 would be the year of the positive. I woke up that day with a hangover, and my roommate and I decided to yuppie it up and drive her car to collect some friends for a Bowl-watching party. In my disabled bodily state, things seemed sharper and it was difficult to keep up with the positivity. However, the Bowl-watching party ended up being 3 dudes and 5 rambunctious ladies, so I spent most of that time giggling.

When we went back out into the world, I started to recede from my football happy state. It was cold and gray and slushy in Chicago, and even though I was in car, I wasn't in my bed. We passed a couple on a street corner, all bundled up and waiting for the light to change so they could cross the street. They held hands, and began to jump as they waited, bouncing up and down. "Christ, aren't they chipper," I thought to myself, silently hating them with their energy and their hand-holding.

And already, I'd failed. I laughed, and told Jenny I had been looking at the same couple, with a moderately different take. My days here are somewhat manic. Yesterday, I went from being completely frustrated with the Illinois Secretary of State (an attempt to get a new driver's license) to completely thrilled with myself and the possibilities that the city holds (after a fairly positive job interview).

Update: I got the job. I will be making an hourly wage larger than I've ever before received to spend three days a week in a position that is in no way appealing. I was so happy to hear I'd gotten the job, truly I was. I begin the year with my financial worries (a blooming, leafy plant that was planted in Sept when I moved here and has grown to catastrophic proportions) eliminated and with two classes so far improved on last quarter's I can't think of a metaphor to illuminate the difference. The gods are promoting my positivity, and I've no choice but to act on it.